Nov 2 Want Council's decision-making to be more open and transparent through engaging residents: Jimmy Chen, re-elected City Councillor

The Migrant Times (TMT) caught up with the Councillor after his win for a short interview. The excerpts:

TMT: What was your response when you heard that people have showed faith in you again? Humbled, grateful, excited?

Chen: I expressed my sincere appreciation to those people in Hornby Ward who voted for me again and gave me the opportunity to represent them on the Council. And also I promise that I'll continue do my best to serve them and to provide them with quality advice and information about the Council's services.

TMT: What are your plans for the next three years? Any priority areas? For Hornby and for Christchurch?

Chen:For Hornby:

•Build Hornby's new service centre and library and the new South-West Recreation and Aquatic Centre.•Improve the traffic situation and ensure all pedestrians can cross the road safely. Safety on the road is a priority for me for local residents.•On-going monitoring of the quarry issue•On-going monitoring the Ruapuna Noise Management issue

For Christchurch:

•Implementation of the Multicultural Strategy: give every single person in Christchurch a sense of belonging•Implementation of the Housing Policy: ensure everyone has warm, dry affordable housing•Strengthening the international relationships between Christchurch and our sister and friendly cities in tourism. international education, economic development, science and technology and cultural exchange.•Build new cycleway facilities

I also want the Council's decision-making to be more open and transparent through the engagement and consultation with residents.